Army and character given on discharge certificate. Discharge certificates must not be forwarded to the War Department in correspondence unless called for. 150. The discharge of a soldier takes effect on the date of notice to him of such discharge, either actual, by delivery of the certificate of discharge, or constructive, as where such delivery can not be made owing to his absence for his own convenience or through his own fault, in which case the receipt of the discharge at his proper station will be deemed sufficient notice. The date of discharge on the final statements must be the same as that on the discharge certificate.

151. Upon the discharge of a soldier his commanding officer will place on his discharge certificate above the line for "Previous service" the following remark:

years,

months,

Continuous service at date of discharge, days. Upon reenlistment the recruiting officer will place the same information upon the descriptive and assignment card and give the date of last discharge. 152. If a soldier be discharged while absent from his company, a complete descriptive list, giving date, place, cause, and the character given on the discharge certificate, will be sent by the officer giving the discharge to the soldier's company commander.

153. In order to prevent payment on fraudulent discharge papers, the officer who prepares the final statements of a soldier will, at least one week before the discharge takes effect, send by mail to the paymaster to whom the soldier may wish to apply for payment a notification, stating therein, in his own handwriting, the date of last payment to the soldier, and his credits and debits both in words and figures, and other essential data. The officer will also send the soldier's signature, or will report that the soldier can not write his name. Blank forms for this notification will be supplied by The Adjutant-General of the Army. The officer issuing the final statements will inform the discharged soldier of the name and location of the paymaster to whom he shall apply for payment.

It should be borne in mind that overpayments caused by erroneous final statements will be charged against the officer who signed the final statements. In cases arising under paragraph 138 the notification will be sent to the paymaster as soon as possible after the order for discharge reaches the officer who prepares and signs the final statements, and, in any event, before the discharge certificate and final statements are signed.

154. A dishonorable discharge from the service is a complete expulsion from the Army, and covers all unexpired enlistments.

155. When a soldier is sentenced by court-martial to confinement without dishonorable discharge, for a period extending beyond the expiration of his term of enlistment, he will be discharged, honorably or without honor, on the date of the expiration of the term of enlistment, but will be held to serve out his sentence, the certificate of discharge being delivered to him on his release from confinement. When, however, a soldier's term of enlistment expires while he is awaiting trial or sentence, he will be discharged (honorably, without honor, or dishonorably, according to circumstances) on the date of the receipt of an order publishing the case or otherwise disposing of it, and the discharge will be dated accordingly.

to

156. When transportation in kind is furnished a discharged soldier to enable him to reach a paymaster, the quartermaster will note on the final statements that "transportation in kind from has been furnished," stating the cost thereof, which will be deducted by the paymaster. If a soldier, discharged at the place of his enlistment, be furnished with transportation to enable him to reach a paymaster, the cost thereof will be ascertained and noted on his final statements, to be deducted by the paymaster.

CERTIFICATES OF DISABILITY.

157. When an enlisted man is permanently unfitted for military service because of wounds or disease, he should, if practicable, be discharged on certificate of disability before the expiration of the term of service in which the disability was incurred. The certificate of disability will be prepared by the post surgeon and will be filled out in his handwriting. Blank forms will be furnished by The Adjutant-General of the Army, and the directions thereon will be strictly complied with.

158. When an application for discharge is approved, the post or regimental commander will furnish to the surgeon by whom the certificate was given, or to the senior surgeon of the command to which the soldier was attached at the time of his discharge, a letter setting forth the full name and rank of the soldier, the company and regiment to which he belonged, the date of discharge, and the cause thereof as stated in the certificate. The surgeon, having made a true copy of the letter for the completion of his own records, will forward the original to the Surgeon-General direct.

159. As disability occurring in the service is usually made the basis of a claim for pension, special care will always be taken to state in the certificate the degree of disability, to describe particularly the disability, wound, or disease, the extent to which it deprives the soldier of the use of any limb or faculty, or affects his health, strength, activity, constitution, or capacity to labor. If such disability was incurred in the line of duty, and the soldier declined treatment for the relief of such disability where treatment was directed, that fact will be set forth in the certificate for the information of the Pension Office.

ARTICLE XXII.

DECEASED SOLDIERS.

160. In case of the death of any soldier, it shall be the duty of his immediate commander to secure his effects and to prepare the inventory required by the one hundred and twenty-sixth article of war, according to prescribed form, and to notify nearest relative of the fact of death. Duplicates of the inventory, with final statements, will be forwarded direct to The Adjutant-General of the Army.

161. Officers charged with the care and custody of the effects of deceased soldiers are required, under the provisions of the one hundred and twentyseventh article of war, to deliver the same, or the net proceeds thereof, to the legal representatives of the deceased. Should the effects of a deceased soldier not be claimed within a reasonable time, they will be sold by a council of administration under the authority of the post commander, and the proceeds transferred to the deceased soldier's immediate commander, by whom they will be deposited with a paymaster to the credit of the United States. Duplicate receipts will be taken, one of which will be sent directly to The AdjutantGeneral of the Army and the other retained with the appropriate records. The paymaster's receipt for the money deposited as above will clearly specify the nature of the deposit, and the officer responsible will furnish the paymaster with the necessary information. There is no authority for officers to pay the debts of deceased soldiers. Watches, trinkets, personal papers, and keepsakes will not be sold, but will be labeled with the name, rank, and organization of the owner, and sent directly to The Adjutant-General of the Army, to be

forwarded to the Auditor for the War Department for the benefit of those legally entitled to them. Clothing effects will not be sent to The AdjutantGeneral of the Army nor to the Auditor for the War Department.

The above provision will also apply, as far as practicable, in the cases of deceased soldiers on the retired list of the Army whose effects may be under the control of the military authorities.

162. In all cases of sale by a council of administration a detailed statement of the proceeds, duly certified by the council and the commanding officer, will accompany the paymaster's receipt forwarded by the immediate commander to The Adjutant-General of the Army. The statement will be indorsed: Report of the proceeds of the effects of who died at

of

the

day

163. The effects will be delivered, when called for, to the legal representatives of the deceased, and the receipts therefor forwarded to The AdjutantGeneral of the Army. Applications for arrears of pay and proceeds of sale of effects of deceased soldiers should be addressed to the Auditor for the War Department, Washington, D. C.

164. The accounts of deceased soldiers are settled by the Auditor for the War Department, and the following is the order of distribution provided for by the act of Congress approved June 30, 1906 (34 Stat. L., 750):

Where the amount due the decedent's estate is less than five hundred dollars and no demand is presented by a duly appointed legal representative of the estate, the accounting officers may allow the amount found due to the decedent's widow or legal heirs in the following order of precedence: First, to the widow; second, if decedent left no widow, or the widow be dead at time of settlement, then to the children or their issue, per stirpes; third, if no widow or descendants, then to the father and mother in equal parts, provided the father has not abandoned the support of his family, in which case to the mother alone; fourth, if either the father or mother be dead then to the one surviving; fifth, if there be no widow, child, father, or mother at the date of settlement, then to the brothers and sisters and children of deceased brothers and sisters, per stirpes Provided, That this act shall not be so construed as to prevent payment from the amount due the decedent's estate of funeral expenses, provided a claim therefor is presented by the person or persons who actually paid the same before settlement by the accounting officers.

When the amount due to the decedent's estate exceeds the sum of $500 legal administration of the estate is necessary.

Officers are advised that, in the cases of single men, it is a safe rule to dispose of the effects as prescribed in paragraph 161 and leave the responsibility of distribution to the Treasury Department.

165. The remains of deceased enlisted men, other than those on the retired list, will be inclosed in coffins and transported by the Quartermaster's Department to the nearest military post or national cemetery for burial, unless the commanding officer deems burial at place of death to be proper, when a full report of the facts and reasons will be made to The Adjutant-General of the Army. The expense of transporting the remains to the nearest post or national cemetery is payable from the appropriation for army transportation. In the case of an enlisted man who has been killed in battle, or who has died at a military camp or in the field or hospital in Alaska or at a place outside the continental limits of the United States, or while on voyage at sea, the remains may, if desired by the relatives, be transported to the home of the deceased for interment. The cost of such transportation will be paid from funds specially appropriated by Congress for that purpose. The expense of burial, other than the cost of transportation, will be limited to $35 for each enlisted man, and will be restricted to the cost of the casket, hire of a.hearse, and the reasonable and necessary expenses of preparing the remains for burial.

ARTICLE XXIII.

WORKING PARTIES. EXTRA AND SPECIAL DUTY MEN.

166. Troops will not be employed in labors that interfere with their military duties except in cases of necessity.

167. Enlisted men detailed to perform specific services which remove them temporarily from the ordinary duty roster of the organization to which they belong will be reported on extra duty if receiving increased compensation therefor, otherwise on special duty. They will not be placed on extra duty except as bakers or to perform the necessary routine services in the Quartermaster's and Subsistence Departments without the sanction of the department commander, except at posts commanded by general officers; they will not be employed on extra duty in time of war, nor in time of peace for labor in camp or garrison which can properly be performed by fatigue parties. Allotments of funds for payment of extra-duty men at department headquarters and depots under the control of department commanders will only be made with the approval of the Secretary of War. Duty of a military character must be performed without extra compensation.

168. Enlisted men detailed by name on extra duty and employed under competent authority at constant labor for not less than ten days are entitled in time of peace to receive extra-duty pay at the following rates: For services as mechanics, artisans, and school-teachers, 50 cents per day; as bakers, according to paragraph 334; as overseers, clerks, teamsters, laborers, and for all other extra-duty services, 35 cents per day. Enlisted 'men receiving or who are entitled to the 20 per cent increased pay for foreign service as provided by law are not entitled to extra-duty pay.

169. The detail of a noncommissioned officer on extra duty, other than that of overseer, will not be made, except in cases of emergency, without the prior approval of the department commander or of a general officer commanding the post. A noncommissioned officer will not be detailed on any duty inconsistent with his rank and position in the military service.

170. Enlisted men of the several staff departments, including members of the post noncommissioned staff, will not be detailed on extra duty without authority from the War Department. They are not entitled to extra-duty pay for services rendered in their respective departments.

171. Company mechanics, artificers, farriers and blacksmiths, saddlers, and wagoners will not be detailed on extra duty in the Quartermaster's Department. 172. Soldiers on extra duty will be paid the extra rates of pay allowed by law for the duty performed, and for the exact number of days employed; and no greater number of men will be employed on extra duty at any time than can be paid the full legal rates for the time employed from the funds provided. Payments made in violation of the above rules will be charged against the officers who ordered the details.

173. Extra and special duty men will attend as many inspections, drills, and other duties as the commanding officer deems practicable, unless specifically excused by higher authority.

174. Extra-duty men will be held to such hours of labor as may be expedient and necessary; but, except in case of urgent public necessity, as in military operations, eight hours will be considered a day's work. For all hours employed beyond that number, the soldier will receive additional compensation-the extra hours being computed as fractions of a day of eight hours' duration,

175. Separate allotments for extra duty and unclassified civil labor in departments will be announced from the War Department at the beginning of each fiscal year. The department commander will determine all matters incident thereto at each post in his department. The expenditures must be within the allotments and limited to the absolutely necessary demands of the service.

ARTICLE XXIV.

SOLDIERS' HOME.

176. An honest and faithful service of twenty years in the Army entitles a soldier to admission to the Soldiers' Home, Washington, D. C.

177. When a soldier, by reason of long service, or disability contracted in the line of duty, desires to enter the Soldiers' Home, his company commander will so report, through military channels, to The Adjutant-General of the Army, giving all the details necessary for a full understanding of the case, including the date of each enlistment, with company and regiment. If the soldier be physically disabled, the report will be accompanied by certificates of disability. The papers will be referred to the Board of Commissioners of the Home, and if, in its opinion, the soldier is entitled to become an inmate, the necessary authority will be given for his discharge at the place where he is serving. He may then proceed to Washington and report to the Board of Commissioners for admission to the Home.

178. Transportation to the Home will not be furnished except by authority of the War Department, on the application of the Board of Commissioners; and in such case the officer who pays the account will, as soon as payment is made, forward the original account to the Quartermaster-General, with a letter of transmittal, in which he will state that the account is forwarded so that it may be referred to the treasurer of the Soldiers' Home for repayment to the Quartermaster's Department. The paying officer will take credit for the amount paid on his accounts for the month, and will note thereon the fact that the account was forwarded to the Quartermaster-General, on a specified date, for the purpose aforesaid.

179. Commanding officers will not order the issue of clothing or subsistence to be repaid from the funds of the Home.

ARTICLE XXV.

MEDALS OF HONOR AND CERTIFICATES OF MERIT.

180. Medals of honor authorized by Congress are awarded to officers and enlisted men in the name of the Congress for particular deeds of most distinguished gallantry in action.

1. In order that the medal of honor may be awarded, officers or enlisted men must perform in action deeds of most distinguished personal bravery or selfsacrifice above and beyond the call of duty so conspicuous as clearly to distinguish them for gallantry and intrepidity above their comrades, involving risk of life or the performance of more than ordinarily hazardous service, and the omission of which would not justly subject the person to censure as for shortcoming or failure in the performance of his duty. The recommendations for the medal will be judged by this standard of extraordinary merit, and incontestable proof of the performance of the service will be exacted.

2. For most distinguished gallantry in action a medal of honor can be awarded to a person, regardless of whether he is in the military service or not,